MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. A delegation from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) will pay a one-day visit to Russia’s Crimea on Thursday to assess the football infrastructure on the peninsula and discuss an initiative of holding a regional championship.

Initially the UEFA planned to send its delegation comprised of members of the executive committee of the governing European football body and other officials to Crimea in mid-February.

"Their goal is to look into the situation, to examine the facilities and talk to people," Mutko told TASS adding that the delegation would make a report on the results of the visit at the next session of the UEFA executive committee.

Mutko said a Crimean football federation would be formed under the UEFA special patronage.

Last July, the Russian Football Union permitted the Crimean clubs to undergo licensing by way of a decision to be taken by its bureau. They were included in the second division of the Russian championship.

The decision was challenged by the football federation of Ukraine and the UEFA passed an intermediary resolution on August 22. It said it did not recognise the introduction of the three Crimean clubs in the second division of Russia’s championship and ruled to hold an extra meeting of the parties concerned "to tap a common solution to the situation."

A decision was later made to set up a working group that would be given the task of settling the awkward situation around football in Crimea, which reunited with Russia in March 2014.